Moving On
by scoob2222
Summary: An angst-filled view of life several years in the future. Life has changed dramatically for Lindsay, Danny and Don.
1. Chapter 1

Prompt: winter

Prompt: winter

It was 10 degrees out with the wind-chill below zero. Lindsay sat in her living room, staring at the blank television screen. She'd just made a decision that she'd prayed for over a year that she wouldn't have to make, and even knowing that it was the right one, it still hurt. She suspected that it would always hurt, that part of her heart would suffer the pain for the rest of her life.

That didn't mean she was going to be unhappy, or dwell on it forever. She had a life to live, a daughter to raise, and she wasn't going to spend the rest of her life crying over what could have been.

She heard the door open and turned her head as Don came in.

"Hey," he said, coming in and locking the door behind him. She'd given him the key months ago. It made more sense since he was constantly watching Eva when she was at work, or stopping by with food, or just generally helping her in some way. He'd been the best friend that she could ever ask for.

"What's going on?" he asked as he sat down next to her, "I got worried when I got your call."

"Yeah," she said, wincing as she realized it was now three in the morning, "Sorry to call so late, it's just….I made a decision tonight and I needed to tell you."

"Okay," he said, "What's going on?"

She took a deep breath and met his eyes, "I'm filing for divorce from Danny."

Don fell back against the couch and looked away for a moment, "Wow, that's….that's a big step. Are you sure?"

She nodded, as much to herself as to him, "We've been separated for a full year now and… he has entered and left rehab three times. He's started twelve step programs and stopped. He was fired, I don't even know where he's working and…well forget child support. Most of the time I can't even let him see Eva when he comes around because he's too wasted. I tried, Don, I tried to hard to help him, but he doesn't want it right now, or he can't want it, I don't really know. What I do know is that Eva and I can't keep putting our life on hold to wait for him."

Don nodded, "I understand. You know I'll be here for you and Eva through the whole thing."

"And Danny?"

Don shrugged, "I'd love to be there for him, I've tried so many times, but…all he wants is to borrow money and I know where that's going. Doesn't mean I won't help him if he ever comes around, though, because I will."

Lindsay smiled, "You've been such a good friend to me through this and such an amazing godfather to Eva."

Don smiled, "Just doing my job. Promised I'd do it in church and everything, very solemn like, more serious than a pink swear."

Lindsay giggled as she thought of Don and Eva's pinky swear promises. She considered them very serious business.

After a few moments of silence, Lindsay looked up at him and spoke again, "There's another reason that I asked you to come over here. Something else I realized tonight, something that scares me, but also…makes me feel really happy and excited for the first time in a long time."

Don stared at her, waiting for her to finish.

She struggled with the next words, unsure what to say, and then finally she leaned forward and kissed him, softly pressing her lips against his.

When she pulled back, his eyes were closed, and when they fluttered open they were filled with confusion, but also something else…hope, at least she thought so.

"Lindsay," he said, "Are you…I mean you must be emotional today, deciding on the divorce and…"

She shook her head, "No, I've never been clearer in my life about what I want. I want a new life; I want to start over, with my little girl…and with you. I want you, Don, I've wanted you for a long time. I don't know when it happened, but I'm falling in love with you. I don't know if you feel the same of it you…."

"Oh, doll," Don said, his hand reaching up to caress her face, "I'm so far past falling, I'm just a speck on the floor."

"Really?" she said her smile lighting up her whole face.

"Really," he told her, leaning in and kissing her again. This time the kiss went on for much, much longer and soon she was pressing against him. Things were quickly getting too hot for them to control.

"Wait, wait," he said after a few minutes, gently pushing her away, "We, uh, please don't think I don't want this…because I do, but we need to wait until your divorced. I can't," he stopped, cursed under his breath, "I can't be with you that way until I'm sure you're free in everyway."

Lindsay smiled, "That's really sweet. Torturous, but sweet. If that's what you want, then that's what we'll do. We'll wait."

"Okay."

Silence.

"But we can still kiss and stuff, right?" she asked.

"Oh yeah," he said, pulling her against him.

Lindsay let him press her back against the couch and in the cold of winter, she suddenly felt warmer than she had in years.


	2. No More Waiting

Prompt: Sex

Don arrived home and found Lindsay in the kitchen, holding a large envelope.

"Hey, Linds," he said leaning in and kissing her cheek. She didn't move, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she said, "actually everything's perfect." She smiled widely at him and held up the envelope, "These are from the lawyer."

Don's eyebrows rose, "Divorce papers?"

She nodded, "Finalized."

"Danny signed? I thought you were going to have to contest."

Lindsay nodded, looking away for a moment, "I think Maria talked him into it. Tried to make him see that it was the best thing to do. He still isn't happy about us."

Don nodded, "Well I can't blame him there. Best friends aren't supposed to fall in love with each other's wives."

"It wasn't like that," she said firmly.

"Hey," he said, pulling her close, "you know how I feel about you. Us being together isn't wrong."

"I know," she said smiling and hugging him, "I also know that you feel guilty about hurting Danny and that's why we've waited so long to be together."

He nodded and she pulled away to grab the envelope again, "But we don't have to wait any longer."

Don stood still for a moment, trying to get control of his raging lust. He'd waited a year to be with this woman, but he'd been celibate a lot longer, wanting her a lot longer, and now that the time was here he had to control himself, had to make sure he did this right because this moment would never happen again.

"Where's Eva?" he asked.

"She's with Maria. I wanted her to know that she'd still be a part of her life, that she'd always be her grandmother. She's spending the night," Lindsay tells him before he can even ask.

He comes closer, his hand lifting to her cheek. Her eyes close and her head tilts so she can kiss his fingers.

"You sure about this?" he asked, "We waited a long time, we can wait longer if you need some time after the divorce or if you…"

"I don't want to wait," she said, her eyes bright with so much love it humbled him, "I love you Donnie, and I don't want to wait anymore."

Don let out a sigh of relief, "Good, that's really good, Lindsay."

She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, standing on top toe so she could kiss him. She gasped as he lifted her up in his arms, feeling like she was in a fairytale as he carried her back to the bedroom they no longer had to share chastely.

&

Don laid her down on the bed softly, pulling away to shed his shoes and coat before lying down next to her.

They slept on this bed together of months, sharing kisses, even touches above their clothes, but they'd never done more than that. Somehow, they both knew they wouldn't be able to stop once they started, so they never started at all.

"I'm nervous," she said, giggling a little, "That seems silly, doesn't it?"

He shook his head, "Not at all, doll, not at all. I'm nervous too, if it makes you feel better."

"You're not just saying that?"

"No, trust me. I haven't had sex in over a year, Lindsay. I'm just hoping I don't embarrass myself and disappoint you."

She smiled and raised a hand to lie on his cheek, "You could never disappoint me. It's an impossibility."

"Good," he said, his hands in her hair, pushing it away from her face, "Good. You're really beautiful, just beautiful."

Her eyes shined and he leaned down to kiss her, his mouth moving slowly over hers. She reached up, her hand on his shoulders as he deepened the kiss.

"Don," she whispered reaching down to pull her shirt off.

He stopped her, hands covering hers, "You really sure, Lindsay? There's no going back after this."

Lindsay smiled, "I don't want to go back, Don, not ever."

Don smiled back and kissed her, "I love you Lindsay Monroe."

"I love you too. No more waiting, no more worrying, just us."

He smiled even wider and kissed her more deeply, "Just us."


	3. What Happens Next

Prompt: Change

Sometimes Don couldn't believe the change in his life. A year ago and a half ago, he'd been alone, helping Lindsay anyway, he could, and desperately in love with her knowing, nothing would ever come of it.

Now he was engaged to her and about to become a stepfather. They were getting married in six months and he couldn't wait.

They'd wanted to get married right away, they'd already been dating for a year after all, but both of them were concerned about the effect it might have on Eva.

However, Danny's presence in Eva's life the last year had taken a dramatic downturn. He scheduled visitation time and then didn't show up. Often his mother would call and say something had come up, but they both knew what that meant…he was drunk again.

Finally, Lindsay had decided that getting married couldn't possibly hurt Eva. Don was already more of a father to her than Danny had ever been. That knowledge made Don grin and ache at the same time. He hated that his happiness had to come at his best friend's pain, but Danny had done it all to himself.

Ten minutes later, he buzzed Danny up. The moment he saw him he knew Eva wouldn't be going anywhere today.

"Hey Montana," Danny said as she opened the door. He looked past her at Don, "Hey back stabbing friend who's screwing my wife."

"Ex-wife," Lindsay said firmly, "and you're supposed to take Eva to the park today."

"I am taking her," he said, glaring at Don the whole time, "That's why I'm here."

Lindsay shook her head, "you are not taking my daughter anywhere when you're like this."

"Your daughter," Danny said, smacking the door and moving closer to her, "What the hell did you do immaculately conceive her? I was there too or maybe you've forgotten now that you've got Donnie boy giving it to you on a daily basis."

Danny could get mean when he was drunk, really mean. Don tried to let Lindsay deal with Danny and his interactions with Eva, knowing it wasn't his place, but it had gone just about far enough.

"Okay, why don't you just…" Don said, starting forward.

"Unca Don," Eva said, appearing in her purple and pink dress that she wore every time she could. She thought it made her look like a princess, "Why are you yelling?"

"We're not yelling sweetheart," he said, lifting her into his arms, "We're just…talking loudly."

"We're arguing," Danny said, then stepped forward, "Eva, come here with Daddy. We're going to the park."

Eva took one look at Danny, then her Mama's white face and buried her face in her Uncle's neck, "No, don't wanna, Unca Don, don't wanna."

"Okay, its okay," Don said. Lindsay came over and he handed Eva to her, "Take her in the back room."

Lindsay eyed Danny, and then Don.

"Its okay," Don said, kissing both her and Eva, "I'll take care of it."

Lindsay started to leave and Danny began walking after her, "Hey, where are you taking her. It's my time with her."

Don wasn't drunk and was bigger than Danny was so it wasn't hard to shove him back against the wall, "You aren't taking her anywhere."

"We have an agreement," Danny said, "The courts say…"

"You want me to call the cops and have the come and drag you off. Look at yourself man, you're a mess. You're scaring Eva. You're her father, you're supposed to protect her, not frighten her."

"Fucking asshole, wife stealing, child stealing."

Don shoved him through the door, "If you aren't out of here in five minutes I'm calling the cops." Don shut the door, bolted it, and waited until he heard the sounds of Danny's fading footsteps.

"He's gone?" Lindsay asked as she came back into the room, looking more tired than before.

He nodded, "You okay?"

She shook her head, "Not really. I don't know what to do anymore. He's drunk more and more. This is the third time in less than three months that I've had to send him away. Every time it upsets Eva." She sighed and looked away, tears in her eyes.

"Hey," he said, moving closer to pull her into his arms, "We'll figure it out. It'll be okay."

She nodded even though she knew it probably wouldn't be okay. Danny was getting worse, and they couldn't pretend for much longer.


End file.
